Toby Harris

the lovely ana carvalho - of http://vjtheory.net and abertura, amongst other things - gave a talk around her phd research, called “on the ephemeral in AV realtime practices: an analysis into the possibilities for its documentation”

The performative moment is a unique narrative, defined as a gathering of multiple elements of varied origins, a point in time, which is no longer past, neither is future yet, which stands between biography and fiction. We will at- tempt to approach the performative moment within the context of audiovisual practice and the philosophy of process. We narrow down our subject of study to collective practice, consisting of two basic components: audio and video.
The uniqueness of an audiovisual realtime performance is the point of de- parture from where to elaborate on the subject of documentation. This point where we stand is a location of questioning. Defined by its uniqueness, the moment is an artistic, collective, momentary manifestation; its documenta- tion does not replace it. What is, in this context, the document? Which criteria should describe this documentation?
We put forward the possibility that audio and visual data are source material only capable of constituting meaning through the momentary construction of narrative. The relationship between moment and construction of memory is in documentation. Photographs, souvenirs and memorabilia are examples of objects that help the construction of social memory. Objects constitute ways to extend our thoughts (individually and collectively) in the attempt to expand memory in time. Parallel to the institutionalized frame of the museum, we propose the collective to create its own ways to document activities, using the practice ́s tools and knowledge, in order to leave traces that will allow future memory construction.